The moment I bought my tagine I knew this traditional Moroccan dish would be the very first meal I’d cook in it. Kefta Mkaouara is a simple, no-nonsense spicy meatball tagine that is to die for.

You’re talking wonderfully seasoned meatballs that are slowly simmered in a sauce made from onion, garlic, tomatoes, spices and (in my case) ras el hanout and harissa. These ingredients combined create a deep, rich flavor that all come together in a savory meal that can be eaten as breakfast as well as dinner.

And last but not least: you poach a few eggs in the sauce. Heavenly, I say.

Normally you’d add cinnamon to the sauce, which I didn’t because the ras el hanout already has cinnamon in it. If you don’t have ras el hanout, replace it with a little extra cumin and a pinch of cinnamon and nutmeg.

I spiced things up by adding a nice bit of harissa.

Give it a good stir.

Put the lid on and let it simmer for 20 minutes.

After 20 to 25 minutes you crack 4 eggs on top. Close the lid and let it simmer for another 10 minutes, until the egg white have set but the yolks are still runny.

This was fantastic! Though I normally make this in a Dutch oven and that works fine, I was pleasantly surprised to find that the tagine gave me a better result. It was almost like the meatballs continued to brown during cooking as well.

Serve with chewy and warm Moroccan flatbread. I know you’ll love this as much as we did!

Slowly bring the tagine to heat after soaking it for 24 hours. Use a flame divider.

Mix the ground beef with the salt, pepper, hot paprika, cayenne, cumin, grated onion and minced parsley. Form it into small, even-sized meatballs.

Heat a tbsp oil and brown the meatballs. Mince the large onions, heat 1 tbsp oil in the tagine and cook the onion in the tagine until soft. Grate the garlic.

Add the meatballs to the tagine, along with the garlic. Pour in the diced tomatoes and season the sauce with salt, pepper, cumin, harissa and ras el hanout. (recipes for harissa and ras el hanout can be found at kayotickitchen.com)

Put the lid on and let it simmer for 20 minutes. Crack 4 eggs on top, put the lid back on and let it simmer for another 10 minutes until the egg whites have set but the yolks are still runny.

Moroccan cuisine is now trendy in nl. Don’t look at me; I have no idea what it is that makes food trendy or not. What do I know? At the end of the day I’m just a mom who’s glad she managed to get enough veggies into her kid without force-feeding him. I still remember when Sushi became a hype here. Anyone who wanted to be someone would hang around…